Ranchers across the Great Plains began to raise cattle on small, enclosed lands because of the arrival of the railroad. As rails stretched across America, they provided greater access to markets. Longer cattle drives became unnecessary, and ranchers could avoid taking large herds on long drives over land. Ranchers also were helped by the invention of barbed wire. This simple tool allowed them to fence off their lands and protect grazing areas from other cattle drives.
First and foremost, tenants did not own land or the crops they grew in a sharecropping system. Tenants often were forced to hand their crops over to the landowner, who would sell the crops and share a small portion of the profits with the tenant. Secondly, tenants were at the mercy of the market. They often overproduced crops to try making a profit on their own, which contributed to overblown supplies and falling prices. Finally, tenants often struggled with failing crops, failing land, and poor weather. Faced with debt to their landowners, tenants would be pressured to overcome these challenges while sometimes making choices that made the problem worse.
